


Alone

by gloriousgalaxy



Series: the void of works i may never return to [1]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Burials, Corruption, Demonic Possession, Escape the Night Season 3, Escape the Night with Joey Graceffa, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I don't know why I'm hurting Mortimer like this he doesn't deserve it, I mention Mortimer's life because he definitely had one, Matt and Nikita hate each other still sorry it's canon, Mind Control, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rated for like. One swear word, To quote Timothy, aka they bury Safiya because it's what she deserves, anyways I don't know what will happen canonically but Mortimer is fucked man, escape the night, i hurt rosanna too i'm sorry baby you don't deserve this, the happy ending is in the budget
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 12:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15437145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloriousgalaxy/pseuds/gloriousgalaxy
Summary: Before he can speak, scream, do anything… it's silent.Mortimer opens his eyes.He is alone.~Basically what happens to Mortimer post-Funhouse. I plan on adding more chapters later on.





	1. Corruption

_ It hurts. It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts…. _

 

Mortimer clutches his head, trying, failing, to get the voices out. Why did he spin the wheel? It did come with a warning label.  _ Drives all that stare into it mad. _ Fuck. He's an idiot. He had a feeling… and now it hurts.

 

Then, he sees a light.

 

He's in front of the church. His blind stumbles must've led him here, so he walks in. There is someone - or rather,  _ something  _ standing in the center of the church. Another wave of pain overcomes him, and this time, he screams. 

 

Mortimer can feel the prickles of magic, creeping into his mind, corrupting his thoughts. He doesn't care. It's all too much. He was just trying to live a normal life. He had friends, a mother that he loved, and an education. And now it's all gone. All because of those stupid clowns and the curse and the Carnival Master….

 

**_“I can help you,”_ ** he hears. Mortimer looks up.

 

The  _ something  _ is now facing him. He recognizes it, it was the one to corrupt Willie. It has curving horns, a wrinkled face, and horrible eyes. It's the Carnival Master, he knows it.

 

**_I can make it stop_ ** . This time, it's more like an echo in his head than an actual voice speaking to him. For a moment, he doesn't care if he's corrupted, if this is the Carnival Master. It's the best thing Mortimer has ever heard.

 

“Please,” he whispers. He'll do anything.  _ Just make it stop… _

 

Another wave of pain washes over him, and before he can speak, scream, do anything… it's silent.

 

Mortimer opens his eyes.

 

He is alone.


	2. Vessel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Possession is a tricky kind of magic. But it's one he's mastered.
> 
> ~
> 
> Or, we see the Carnival Master's point of view.

As the Carnival Master looks down at the man knelt before him, he is already weaving his magic into his mind. His physical body can't escape this church, but if he takes a vessel, he can leave through them. 

 

He already tried luring the man named Joey. He was the strongest, the one whos body had been trapped in the chains of death and escaped. But that vessel was not free yet, and if he completes his mission, he would disappear.

 

So this one will do just fine. He's not picky, after all.

 

He pushes the magic deeper, causing a wave of pain to flow over the man. He has to make him willing to do  _anything_ to make it stop. Most humans don't make it this far.

 

But then he hears it. That simple, sweet thought, like music to his ears.

 

_ Please! I'll do anything! _

 

He smiles.

 

The Carnival Master reaches into Mortimer’s body and pulls out his soul, in a plume of smoke that he absorbs into the crystal. 

 

Possession is a tricky kind of magic. But one he's mastered.

 

He lays the crystal around the neck of the man and transports his own soul into the body. It's always disconcerting, the moment as the soul transfers from body to body and has no physical form. But then he's looking out of his vessel’s eyes, and he smiles.

 

This man’s body isn't as strong as he'd like. He doesn't know how much magic it can take before it dies. But he'll find another. One with a sharper mind and a darker heart. And a woman to make his queen.

 

He is almost free.


	3. Darkness

They bury Safiya in the grass near the bridge, in a grave surrounded with wildflowers. Her face is peaceful as they lower her down, the blood staining her sweater barely noticeable now. As they pour dirt over her, Ro shivers.

"Two of us are still going to die before we can go home," she says quietly. Matt wraps an arm around her wordlessly as she covers her face with her hands. "I don't want to die."

Nikita, enraged earlier, stands on the opposite side of the grave. She and Matt have been glaring at each other, but her gaze softens when it lands on the smaller woman. "Three of us will still make it out," she says firmly. "You will see your family again. I promise."

"Who are you to promise anything to anyone?" Matt snaps. "It's your fault Safiya is dead."

Ro shakes her head as Nikita glares back at him. She can see how angry she is, built up from watching Roi die, Colleen, Matt himself. It's a lot, and she knows that riling her up isn't going to do any good.

"Stop. Stop," she says, in an attempt to keep them from attacking each other again. Manny puts one arm in front of Nikita and gently pushes her back. 

Matt looks down at her, and then sighs. With that exhale, it's like all the anger is draining out of him. He slumps against her, and for the first time tonight, just looks exhausted.

They all stand there for a few more moments, mourning Safiya, and then Joey speaks up. "So what's next?"

Before anyone can respond, they hear rustling. Simultaneously, they all turn to see none other than Mortimer strutting through the grass. His face, tilted away from the moonlight, can't be seen from the angle Ro is at.

Calliope's face melts into relief. "Mortimer!" she calls, taking a step towards him. "Are you all right?"

Then, he looks up, and Ro gasps. His eyes are pure black, and darkness seems to leech out of them into the night air. The skin of his face is a strange, sickly gray, although the rest of him seems fine.

"Homeboy's on something," Nikita murmurs as they all begin to shuffle back. 

"Guys, I think we should run," Manny says uncertainly, as Mortimer - or maybe not Mortimer - continues to approach. Matt begins to push Ro towards the town, maybe subconsciously, maybe not.

He takes another step towards them, and the ground shakes. Joey screams, and just that high-pitched noise is enough to shake Rosanna out of her confusion.

"Run!" yells Matt. And he takes off.

She's the slowest in the group, at this point, so she almost isn't surprised when hands grab her arms and yank her back. She screams, but one of the hands claps across her mouth and silences her. 

Nikita hears her and looks back. Her eyes widen. She skids to a stop, and Ro frantically begins to shake her head.  _Go, go, go, keep going..._

Mortimer's hand comes off her mouth. His nails dig suddenly into her neck and she can feel blood bead around them. Some germaphobe part of her cringes at the thought of what might be on his hands, but at this point, she doesn't really care too much.

The others notice that Nikita has stopped running and also turn around. "Ro!" Matt cries, but he doesn't move. The other four just look at each other uncertainly, clearly not sure what to do.

Her neck tingles as Mortimer yanks his fingertips out. She tries to turn, or wiggle out, or _something_ , but the hands on her arms pull her back sharply. Ro yelps as her arm twists in his strong grip.

"Let her go," Matt says, but his voice is shaking. He doesn't move.

"It's all right," she says quietly. "Just go!"

The tingling in her neck increases to a dull throb. Her head seems to fill with a strange, unearthly glow.

And then everything goes black.


End file.
